Tiger Woods has claimed he can play through the pain barrier and make more history by winning a record-equalling sixth Masters title this weekend.
The American superstar, 48, has played only six full Tour events since a horrific car crash in February 2021. And the 15-time Major winner has not completed 72 holes for nearly 15 months and he admitted: “I hurt every day”.
Woods winning his fifth Masters here in 2019 after 11 years of scandal and surgeries was among the greatest sports stories and comebacks in history. But the player now ranked world No.959 reckoned he can go one better in 2024. ”If everything comes together, I think I can get one more,” he said. “Do I need to describe that any more than that, or are we good?”
In his pomp, Woods always insisted he would never become a “ceremonial golfer” and he did not give a longer answer when asked if he had thought about joining fellow legends Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson as an honorary starter.
“I have not thought about being a starter here, no,” he said. Even when the things in his game don’t come together? “Well, I still think they can,” Woods stated. “So I don't know when that day is, when that day comes, but I still think that I can. I haven't got to that point where I don't think I can't.”
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Woods still talks a good game - and he was backed up by his friend Freddie Couples after playing nine holes together on Tuesday.
“Can he win here?” asked the 1992 champion. “You know what, yeah. I just watched him play nine holes, and nine holes is only nine holes on a Tuesday, but he never mis-hits a shot. But the idea of making a cut, I think he would laugh at that because that's a huge record, but he's here to win. He's here to play really, really hard.”
At the age of 63 years and 187 days, Couples became the oldest player to ever make the cut here last year. Woods equalled the record of 23 consecutive cuts made here held by Couples and Gary Player - and can beat it this year - but withdrew before the rain-delayed third round re-started on Sunday with plantar fasciitis. He was six-over par after seven holes on a cold and wet Saturday.
Woods still believes he can pull a big performance out of the bag (David Cannon/Getty Images)Since then, he played 72 holes at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last December and withdrew from the Genesis Invitational in February on the seventh hole of the second round with flu-like symptoms. And he now faces the task of walking the hilly Augusta National with nagging pain in his battered body.
“I hurt every day,” he smiled. “I ache”. Is it worse here? “No, I ache every day. And I prefer it warm and humid and hot. And I know we're going to get some thunderstorms. So at least it will be hot. It won't be like last year.”
There are storms forecast here in Thursday’s opening rounds - where he will tee off at 1.24pm. with Jason Day and Max Homa - but temperatures will still reach 24 degrees Celsius. Woods went under the knife on his back for the fifth time in December 2020 and he had emergency surgery to save his lower right leg after the crash.
Tiger Woods won the Masters in 2019 (Getty Images)“The ankle doesn't hurt anymore,” he explained. “It's fused. It's not going anywhere. So that's fine. It's other parts of my body that now have to take the brunt of it. Once he put the rods in there, it's good to go. But, the back, the knee, other parts of the body have to take the load of it. Things just flare up. Some days I just feel really good, and other days, not so much.”
Without his usual Nike baseball cap - he now has his own clothing line Sun Day Red - Woods looked all of his 48 years in his pre-tournament press conference. He stated in December his aim had been to play once a month this year but he has not tried to play since February. “I wasn't ready to play,” he explained. “My body wasn't ready. My game wasn't ready. But now we have major championships every month from here through July. So now the once a month hopefully kicks in.”
Woods also revealed he is in negotiations to become the US Ryder Cup captain at Bethpage Black next year. “We're still talking about it,” he smiled.
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